MEC Beacon Park
Backcountry safety gear is pointless unless you have the skills to use your beacon, probe and shovel in high-pressure situations. Gaining those skills and keeping them sharp requires regular practice, season after season. One of the best venues to gain search speed and confidence is in a BCA Beacon Park where practice targets are buried and the digging in is already done.
The Mt Baker Mountain Education Center will be sponsoring and maintaining BCA (Backcountry Access) beacon park this season outside the Heather Meadows Aid Room. Stop by on your lunch break to have a go, race your backcountry partners and track your time.
Scheduled Open Days: Weekends in January and February from 12:00 – 4:00 pm.
During open times, the site is open to the public for practice of single or multiple-burial scenarios. The black control box has switches to turn on or off the eight signals of the pre-buried targets. The setup is designed so you can simulate a field-based pinpoint search, then probe for the buried target. Please leave the targets buried and turn off the signals at the black control box when you are done practicing.